THE service at Crediton Methodist Church on September 8 was led by Pam Murphy and her theme was “Freely, freely give”. 

When we look around we recognise everyone is unique and different.

We instantly recognise people’s faces and every face is different. Even with identical twins their different personalities help us to identify them. 

Today we celebrate our uniqueness and celebrate the different gifts and talents God has given us and which we can offer in service to God.

In the Old Testament there are the Ten Commandments and additional laws and rules to support the people in the way they should live.

Pam put out 10 Jenga bricks representing the Ten Commandments and another 10 bricks as a small representation of additional laws and rules. She tried to remove one brick but they all came tumbling down.

In the reading James said you will be doing the right thing if you obey the law in scripture and love your neighbours as yourselves.

Anyone who breaks one commandment is guilty of breaking them all.  That is when it all falls apart.

Both readings from Mark and James talk about crossing barriers and breaking them down.

Christians have Christ crucified, resurrected and ascended as central to our faith. 

He did not come to abolish laws and rules that existed to try and help people keep themselves living a holy life. 

Jesus gives us a new commandment – the Great Commandment – to love the lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind and, secondly, to love your neighbour the same as you love yourself.  All of the law and the writings of the prophets take their meaning from these two commandments.

So we find James giving examples of how we can demonstrate that loving God, ourselves and others is paramount to us - with no favouritism in revering wealth or money and we should not put down anyone who is poor.

We have help to assess how well each one is doing in loving our neighbours - the people we meet, some people will be strangers and for all of whom in Christ’s name we might make a difference. It is also, as His body, the Church, that we can review how we stand with our Lord.

We have a lovely refurbished church – pretty different from that way when it was originally built.

Who knows, what modern facilities will look like in 20 or 30 years time? But, for the present age, we have got features here which offer good opportunities to do God’s work.

As a congregation we have welcomed the benefit of the new seating layout and a more relaxed atmosphere in church.

Does our layout make us feel held in God’s love, held together with the people of God?  When somebody new comes to church (and on line or on the phone) hopefully we offer them a warm welcome and make them feel they belong.

Let’s not sit back and think job done! Let us keep listening and reviewing if there is room for more improvement.   We have made strides in service structures too. In addition to Sunday services, there are opportunities to reach people outside and to be inclusive and accepting of people as they are.

Big Top Youth Club, Friday coffee time which started as Warm Spaces and has continued for the last couple of years and the monthly Friday Focus.  We hope that we are extending God’s love and welcome to absolutely everyone.

We value being an inclusive and welcoming church and hope there is nobody who feels they cannot come through the doors because they are not good enough. 

With God’s help think about how other people might perceive things we see and the things we say and do. How do we come across to people listening? Do they always hear words of loving kindness or do they feel it is condescending? How kindly are our actions or do people who come to our services sometimes not understand a word we are saying because it is not familiar language to them? Is our faith a beacon of Christ’s light shining out in the dark world?

Everyone should consider and reflect on Jesus’s ministry to ordinary people in ordinary places. His words and actions were for all-comers and it did not matter whether they were Jew or Gentiles, priest or fishermen, men, women or children, rich or poor.

His care is for the sinner – which turns out to be everyone – not just people with obviously bad reputations. 

Without Him our lives are fragile and without our faith in God’s loving care and forgiveness could tumble down just like Jenga bricks.

God help us to commit our lives to follow and serve your  Son, Jesus, in faith with your love and a desire to treat everyone equally and give of our lives as freely we have received from Him.                           

Bronwyn Nott